Review: X-O Manowar #12

Left for dead by a mercenary band of bounty hunters far more twisted and devious than any enemy he’s faced before, Aric of Dacia has managed to cling to life…and a thirst for revenge. Now, his campaign of retribution against those who have wronged him can begin in full force…and, when the dust settles, the alien world of Gorin will rue the day it ever brought the savage sword of X-O Manowar crashing down upon it…

When X-O Manowar #12opens we find Aric unclothed and weaponless in the wastelands having a little snack. Ryan Bodenheim (art) and Andrew Dalhouse (colors) produce a sweeping desolate vista that wastes scant time in letting the reader know just how deadly, yet incredibly beautiful all the same, the landscape of this planet actually is. While the story set against this vista equally as well written, I’ll get to that in a moment, because I wanted to spend a moment more on the exquisite art within the comic that has a very distinct “comic book” sense about it, and yet wouldn’t look out of place on the poster to a science fiction movie in your theater. The action, figures and motion within the panels are easy to read and seamless in their presentation as the story progresses from the wastelands to the capital.

Matt Kindt brings the comic along at a steady pace, alternating between violently elegant confrontations and equally tense verbal confrontations that surround our hero as he brings a truth that none had previously considered. There’s a character moment or two in X-O #12 that will play into Aric’s role in the coming months as Harbinger Wars 2 approaches, and he comes to an understanding of just who – and what – he is.

When you break down this comic into it’s most basic of themes, it’s that of communication, or the lack there of. Had those who usurped Aric not taken to the most extreme avenue before taking the simplest then one could surmise that this arc would have been significantly shorter. But that would have meant we wouldn’t get this issue in its current form – and that would have been a shame.

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